Some years ago, a young couple came to the University of Washington to visit the laboratory of a psychologist named John Gottman. They were in their twenties, blond and blue-eyed with stylishly tousled haircuts and funky glasses. Later, some of the people who worked in the lab would say they were the kind of couple that is easy to like--intelligent and attractive and funny, in a droll, ironic kind of way--and that much is immediately obvious from the videotape Gottman made of their visit. (from the first line)

Draws on a range of case studies to explore the process by which people make decisions, explaining how the difference between good and bad decision making is directly related to the details on which people focus, and counseling readers on how to become better decision makers in every aspect of life. 200,000 first printing. *Author: Gladwell, Malcolm *Subtitle: The Power Of Thinking Without Thinking *Publication Date: 2005/01/11 *Number of Pages: 277 *Binding Type: Hardcover *Language: English *Depth: 1.00 *Width: 5.75 *Height: 8.50

From the Publisher:Draws on a range of case studies to explore the process by which people make decisions, explaining how the difference between good and bad decision making is directly related to the details on which people focus, and counseling readers on how to become better decision makers in every aspect of life. 200,000 first printing.

Annotation:Social commentator Malcolm Gladwell once again takes the pulse of contemporary experience and, in BLINK, comes up with this enlightening exploration of the role of rapid thinking in everyday life. Gladwell shows how what we call snap judgments, first impressions, or instinct are often right on target and get to the core truths. He reveals that experts call this process "thin-slicing"--the ability to dive for truth the way a basketball player grabs a loose ball on the court, cutting through layers and levels of knowledge that resist tortured analysis. He reports on current research in the fields of science and psychology, and their applications in marketing. Gladwell writes of the marriage therapist who can discern, by listening to three minutes of the parties talking to each other, whether their marriage will last, and how thin-slicing operates in a job interview or when an insurance company wants to identify which doctors are candidates for lawsuits. It might be a sense of structures and patterns, or a Sherlock Holmesian sensitivity to the messages we send out, or just the ability to filter out bad signals and bad information. Gladwell draws examples from the home, office, and school, and proceeds with care and caution through his material; his exposition is as engaging as it was in his previous book, THE TIPPING POINT. After reading Gladwell you will more likely trust your first impressions, but wonder what others are thinking, too.

Author Bio

Malcolm Gladwell

In his Acknowledgments to THE TIPPING POINT, Malcolm Gladwell tells how he got his dream job at the New Yorker magazine: a freelancer, he wrote a piece (which he later expanded to THE TIPPING POINT) and the editor at the time, Tina Brown, hired him "to my surprise and delight." At the New Yorker he is obligated to produce 40-50,000 words per year, he has said on his website, but he is free to write "about everything under the sun." Gladwell's two books, THE TIPPING POINT and BLINK spent many weeks on the New York Times hardcover and paperback best seller lists--sometimes appearing simultaneously. His engaging forays into pop culture and everyday life are revealing keyholes into how we live today, and since he is a good explainer he just makes things more interesting than they usually appear. Gladwell has a history degree from Trinity College, University of Toronto, and he spent years working for the Washington Post.

Praise

New York Times Book Review"BLINK moves quickly through a series of delightful stories, all about the backstage mental process we call intuition....My first impression of BLINK--in blurb-speak--was 'Fascinating! Eye-opening! Important!'....If you want to trust my snap judgment, buy this book: you'll be delighted." - David Brooks 01/16/2005

Kirkus Reviews"The author's great strength lies in his stories, and here he crafts a number of engaging ones....All these stories are nicely written and most inform and entertain at the same time...." 10/01/2005

This is one of the most fascinating books I have r

2/24/2006

This is one of the most fascinating books I have read in some time. The book centers on the concept of how fast we really do make judgments, called "thin slicing", and how deeper analysis can sometimes provide less information than more. It is all about cognitive speed.
The concept of "thin slicing" is dissected and explained. What I found fascinating, and also common sense, is that we process information on a subconscious level, "behind the door", and process so holistically that to over analyze can actually hinder our ability to make decisions.

Several key points are applicable in business. One of the in depth studies looked at a military leader who was particularly successful. One of his more poignant observations was that a great leader needs to let the people do their work. When deciding how often to follow up "you are diverting them, now they are looking upward instead of downward. You are preventing them from resolving the situation". (Page 118) Further "allowing people to operate without having to explain themselves constantly ... enables rapid cognition" (Page 119). It seems that most micro-management actually prevents people from successful decision making.

Another strange phenomenon occurs when we try and explain how we come to some conclusions. It seems that the more we try to analyze how we come to some conclusions the less reliable they become.

The ability to absorb and detect minute changes in facial expressions allows us to essentially "read minds" if we pay attention. There are several chapters on how reliable we can be in predicting behavior with very little information.

Overall, this book is so well written that I had a hard time putting it down. My only compliant, and it is a minor one, is that the book just ends. No summary or wrap up, just "boom", it's over. However, that is more a testament to how engaging the book is I suppose. Another book worth looking at is "Giorgio Quest". Highly recommended!

One of the most interesting and entertaining books

11/5/2005

One of the most interesting and entertaining books I've read in a long time! Malcom Gladwell has done an excellent job on making you think about how we think. Really opens your eyes to some fascinating things about us humans. Highly recommended!

About the Seller

Seller Description

<b>BookOutlet</b> has been in business over 25 years supplying retail customers with quality bargain books. <b>BookOutlet</b> offers quality books at bargain prices backed by our 110% Customer Satisfaction Guarantee. The books we sell are publisher overstocks, returns &amp; reprints and some may have a small mark on the bottom edge identifying them as publisher return.

Marketplace Guarantee Claim

Buyers should receive Marketplace items in the condition that they were listed. We ask buyers to first contact the seller to give them a chance to address any issues. If the seller does not respond or if the issue is not addressed to the customer's satisfaction buyers can rely on our Rakuten.com Marketplace Guarantee Claim which, covers the first $750 of every purchase...
read more

Returns Policy

All of our books have a 110% Customer Satisfaction Guarantee. If you're not happy with your purchase, please contact our Customer Service department within 5 days of receipt of your order.<br>
<br>
Create an email ticket with our customer service team. Be sure to include "Buy....read more

Shipping Info

My order was cancelled a day after I placed it with absolutely no reason or explanation. Money has still not been credited. Completely unprofessional and inefficient. Will be sure to tell others not to use BookCloseouts or even bother with Rakuten.